Author Archives: Phil Henry

When Rod, Jackie, Ellie, Ben and Ken decided to run in Palma de Mallorca little did they know that Hurricane Ophelia would blow in a heatwave!
In blazing sunshine Ben sensibly opted for the 10k and managed a respectable time, even if he wasn’t happy about it.
The others were in the half marathon thanking their fortune for not entering the full. Rod went off too fast (there’s a surprise!) and struggled after halfway to record 1:41:59. Jackie nearly gave up at halfway, but got going again to finish in 2:14:50. Ellie ran steadily for 1:42:14. Ken ran half the race with his Mallorcan friend, but then got left behind (Spain 1 England 0) and eventually recorded 1:39:34.
The 10k and first half of the half marathon was an out and back along the coast. Nice surface, but unrelenting sun. The half marathon then ran up into and in ever decreasing circles around the old town. Shaded but airless.
All enjoyed the experience, especially lunch in Plaza Mayor with a good rock band. Lovely city, good race, tough course.

After an early morning start us Jags and approximately 15,998 other runners made it to the start line for 9am, ready for the off, in our various coloured waves.

Starting on the southern edge of Hyde Park, we set off towards Buckingham Palace, passing through the Wellington Arch & the edge of Green Park, before reaching Horseguards Parade via Birdcage Walk – a lot of sights for the first two miles!

From there we headed through Admiralty Arch on to Whitehall, towards Downing Street & the poppy adorned Cenotaph.

After looping back towards Trafalgar Square, the route took in a number of streets, before heading back up The Mall towards the Palace & back into Hyde Park.

The route explored the majority of Hyde Park, doubling back along a stretch on the edge of the Serpentine lake, where a large number of supporters for all of the runners had gathered, with all kinds of bells, whistles and signs – the noise was phenomenal.

Soon the finish was in sight, and our medals awaited. In keeping with the park theme, the medal was made of wood & leaf shaped – a refreshing change!

It was a very well organised event that we would definitely recommend to others & hope to run again.

A bright October morning and ‘Jaguars on Tour’ assembled on the Embankment for the flat, fast and friendly Great Eastern Run. Some had chosen to arrive on the Saturday and rest up overnight, others made an early start from Norwich and area. This is a well organised event (though toilet queues can be long) there is plenty of room at the start and parking is reasonable.

The weather was perfect for racing, Jags took up places in appropriate pens and the race was underway on time. The start is not too congested and space is quickly available, giving everyone the chance to stretch their legs. Andy ‘Runner’ Mulligan disappeared into the distance. Despite, in his own words, ‘not having the best of days’ he finished easily the 1st Jaguar home. Indeed all Jaguars finished without too much trouble, including Claire who went to the start carrying an injury. Jack came home in a club Silver time, an excellent effort for his 1st competitive half.

After the race many of us trooped into the town centre to increase Costa Coffee’s profits at Stewie’s insistence. It’s a club tradition (according to Stewie). A good day for the Jaguars.

With my anticipated race partner – Bex Pountain – sadly injured for her second 10 mile race in a row I didn’t really have a plan for this race. I’ve found racing much harder psychologically this year and had a break over the summer to try to get my mojo back.
A PB was out of the question, so I set out to achieve gold standard in my first 10 mile race in Jags colours.
For the first few miles I tried to keep up with Howard Harper and Nick Eley, but after they opened a gap I decided to run my own race and try to enjoy the experience instead.
It was hard to enjoy the conditions just after 4 miles when we made a right turn into a stiff breeze and it started to rain. I thought back to the Mental Strength Workshop in the summer, remembered Rod Bye’s race mantra and found myself repeating “Ya-ya Tou-re, Ya-ya Tou-re” to myself, to fit in with my stride pattern. Being an NCFC fan I tried to think of a different player, but as Cameron Jerome and Wesley Hoolahan didn’t scan I settled on “Nor-wich Ci-ty, Nor-wich City”.
There was respite from the wind just before 5 miles when we made a left turn to run uphill and then I stopped and walked at the first water station to get a decent drink down me.
After running a loop we reached the second water station at about 7 miles and as I slowed down to grab a cup and walk again I was passed by Vicky Tovell.
Suitably refreshed I caught Vicky up and ran with her for a while. She was targeting sub 1:20 and as we were well inside that pace and I was feeling strong again I pushed on.
Around 8 miles the wind was a factor again (“Nor-wich Ci-ty, Nor-wich Ci-ty”), but the long straight towards the finish was mainly tree-lined and offered protection most of the way.
All of a sudden there was only 400 metres to go and I heard my name over the tannoy as I approached the finish along with “…..is being caught by….” and the tell-tale thump of running shoes on tarmac getting closer. That was enough to push me to a sprint finish and I held off the fast approaching runner behind me. He took it well and we laughed and high-fived after having the chips removed from our shoes.
There were some great performances by other Jags:

Andy Mulligan was top Jag after benefiting from Bex’s unfortunate withdrawal

The ever sprightly Ken Bowman achieved platinum standard

Emma Blake held her position of first in age category 40-45 from last year, ran a PB and age category record

Vicky Tovell also ran a PB and age category record

Nicola Holden teamed up with Emma and Vicky to be the 1st ladies team home

Overall there was a great Jags turn out, the race was well organised and marshalled and the cake afterwards wasn’t bad either (although obviously not up to Jags standard! :-))

The second Nicholson’s (http://www.nicholsonslaw.com/) Lowestoft Half Marathon took place on Sunday 1st October, in what can only be described as ‘tricky’ conditions. Eight jags took off from the most easterly point in England, Ness Point to cover 13.1 miles as fast they could.

The course is two laps, starting with what on a sunny Sunday would be a gorgeous stroll along the seafront before turning up Links Road, which comes as a shock front the dead flat sea wall to what is a rather impressive hill. The course continues out to Corton, making the first 5km turn at The Corton Inn (http://www.thecortoninn.co.uk/) which is where the wind really started to bite. By the time you are running back down Links Road which should be a relief the wind had definitely decided it was going to make its presence felt.

The rain had also set in by this point, although was actually quite refreshing in places did mean that we knew were in for a treat when we back on the seafront. Reaching the starting point, knowing that you need to turn around and do the whole thing again is slightly daunting, but all eight jags managed this with some very successful results. Nicola Lambert-John was first Jag home and second lady earning herself a trophy with an impressive time of 1.37.29. Radley Fenn completed his very first half marathon in 1.38.43. Personal bests were also achieved by John Windham and Ivan Westley in 1.58. 14 and 1.58.35 respectively. There is nothing like Jags support and running with other team mates not only spurs us on but also giving others the encouragement, be it to the winner, middle of the pack or the last person over the line. Coltishall Jags make it known that we are there to support and it’s the love of running that is important not the time that you finish in!

Paul Taylor and Kerri Clarke made the journey up to Lincolnshire to take part in the second edition of the Lincoln Half Marathon. This race has something in common with the Norwich Half as it starts and finishes on the Lincolnshire show ground. Unlike Norwich, however, the route goes through the middle of Lincoln and hits almost all of the big tourist attractions heading through the University of Lincoln, Brayford Water, Lincoln Castle and in front of the Cathedral (last year runners also ran through the Cathedral grounds and it would have been nice to repeat that). The course thankfully avoids the infamous and aptly named Steep Hill but the short and very steep downhill into the village of Burton at just over two miles did a fine job of killing the quads and making the rest of the race challenging. Some fantastic race bling, featuring the cathedral, a goody bag and free pint of (sadly non-alcoholic) beer for all finishers. Mind you I am not sure I will get much use out of the Aussie Miracle Moist Shampoo or Fudge Hair Shaper included in the goody bag!

Wow – this marathon lived up to all expectations. I was told it was one of the flattest marathons in the world and it certainly was that. I actually got to watch the start of the race and watched all the top famous athletes start the race. I then got myself into position way down the field. It was perfect weather conditions and you could feel the excitement all around.

Thousands of people cheered on as we ran through the streets of Berlin. Lots of bands and music around the course. The highlight for me was running through the Brandenburg Gate.

On 24th September several Jags ventured out of the county to race in a warm and sunny Nottingham at the Robin Hood marathon and half marathon.

James Lambert and David Platten had both signed up to tackle the marathon initially but injury prevented them from getting in sufficient training and so they wisely opted for the half marathon option. This meant it was just Rod Bye who ran the marathon for the club. Joining James and David in the half marathon distance was myself, Nicola Lambert-John and Jackie Bye. Those running the full and half all start together in allocated pens depending on your predicted time. I managed to find David in the pen we were in and it was good to have a chat before we headed off, 3 minutes after the pen in front. Now I mention this as I found out at mile 4 when I caught up with Rod as he wanted to stick with the 3:15 pacer who he saw at the start to then realise he was in the pen ahead and so the pacer had simply disappeared by the time we started! Rod and I ran together for a while but tough for those doing the marathon who are fed off onto the second half of their route right near the finish for those doing the half!

This was my target race for the year as it’s a race I’ve wanted to do for a couple of years in my home city. It was a tough course with some hills in the first half and the end seemed to stretch on forever! Normally target races don’t seem to go to plan for me and having had shin splints for the previous 4 weeks I was apprehensive that I could reach my goal. However I dug deep and hung on in there, giving myself a good talking to when I wanted to quit at mile 10 and was really pleased with my time, achieving my target.

James Lambert finished just ahead of me as he was in the previous pen and David Platten achieved his target for the race of sub 2 hours. Rod and Jackie both told me they found the course challenging and were disappointed with their times, but I feel they both did fantastic and achieved gold standards for their age categories.

The event was well organised and there was support along the closed streets, along with several bands playing. I particularly liked the water pouches provided as they meant you could create a small fountain of water to drink from/tip over you without the difficulty of trying to run and drink from a cup simultaneously! As well as the half and full marathon they offer a very popular children’s race.

No plans to give it another go next year, but wouldn’t rule it out for the future!